An Unusual Friendship
by EviIPaladin
Summary: Cardin makes a friend and suffers for it. Inspired by a Twitter RP thread between @CWinningchester and @meltthembitches. Out-of-character Cardin. BumbleBY and a bunch of other ships in the background. Chapters 4 and 5 are more Drama than Humour.
1. The Movie

**A/N: Heyo, Evii here! I'd like to apologize for this incredibly out of character Cardin in this piece; it was inspired by a conversation involving Angie's Yang (meltthembitches) and my Cardin (CWinningchester) after a BumbleBY following out. Special thanks to Hiro's Blake (misguidedstray) as well as Hana for helping me and Angie to flesh out some dumb ideas. Once again, apologies for the out-of-character of it all.  
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><p>Cardin coughed as he finished the last rep of his chin-ups before sitting down on the bench and grabbed his water bottle. He was a little frustrated today. Not because of the work out, which he had completed flawlessly, as to be expected. Nor was it because of his studies, which were going well enough. No, the cause was…<p>

"Yo, Cardin!"

The Huntsman-in-training groaned as the voice of his imminent torment called out to him from across the gym. At first, he hadn't thought it would be that bad, making this friend. But she was beginning to wear him out.

"Hey Yang," he muttered, between gulps of water, as she sat down next to him. Her vibrant smile fooled him no more. He knew her game too well. "How's Blake?"

The smile dropped as Cardin allowed himself his own small victory. After all, as much as he detested the Faunus girl, she was the reason he and Yang had become friends. And for all his grandstanding, that's what the two were: friends.

"She's fine, musclebrains," Yang retorted, sticking out her tongue at her workout partner. She edged a bit closer to Cardin, raising a hand to her mouth as she began to whisper. "But we might want to tone down the cat puns; I think she's spying on my gym time."

Cardin chuckled, slamming down his water bottle before running a hand through his burnt-orange hair. Before he could open his mouth, his eyes went wide with panic. "Wait, did you hear that?!"

"Hear what?!" exclaimed Yang, scanning the area for her sneaky girlfriend.

"It sounded like a whip being snapped!" Cardin howled before he got knocked off the bench by a punch from Yang. "Oh come on, that was funny!"

Yang merely pouted and looked away from the boy who was picking himself up off the ground and dusting himself off. As he stretched out his arms, he flashed a charming smile at his blonde companion. "You look like you could blow off some steam. What's first on today's work out agenda?"

"Sparring," replied Yang with a smile as Cardin groaned. There was only one way that particular activity was going to end and he'd rather postpone it a little.

"Shouldn't we do stretches first?"

"If you're a sissy who's into sappy chick flicks, sure."

"Sparring it is," said Cardin, with a sigh of resignation.

* * *

><p>As the two walked into the combat ring, the daily feeling of dread packed onto Cardin's chest like it always did. He wasn't weak, not by any stretch of the imagination. He had made it in to Beacon almost solely on his strength, although his family's name and money had contributed. In a fight of pure brute force, he could beat almost anyone he went up against. But not Yang Xiao Long.<p>

The blonde girl leaped into action, attacking fiercely with her gauntlets, as Cardin ducked and dodged the first few blows. They were slow attacks, made to lull him into a sense of ease. He had quickly learned this lesson during their first few bouts. As the fourth punch missed, Yang saw an opening in the armoured boy's defense and struck.

But for once, he was prepared. Swinging his mace in front of him, he caught his partner's fist and knocked it away. Pushing the advantage, he leaped up to swing the mace down on her pretty little head when she side-stepped the blow. Attempting to keep the momentum, he altered the mace's course so that it would catch her shoulder. However, the blow lost all steam when a flying fist caught the knight just below his chest plate, driving the breath from his lungs.

He should've known better, as he looked into the smiling face of his opponent. This was all still a game to her, as she emasculated him time and time again. As he sunk to his knees, he wheezed audibly and groaned. A heavy slap on the back was all it took to send him face first into the mat. He cursed many things at this time but mostly himself. He'd have to learn one day…

* * *

><p>"Hey you almost got me that time!"<p>

"Less talking, more pressing."

Yang frowned as she returned to her weight lifting as Cardin spotted, still rubbing his chest to try and ease the pain. Despite her claims to the contrary, he knew Yang had let him get the one hit in. While it bothered him a little, he had to appreciate that she did at least give him a small bit of redemption. And, if he was being truly honest, he didn't mind being second best if it was to Yang.

While Cardin had to admit he found her attractive, and he didn't think he'd ever meet a person who could disagree, he saw her more like a sister, really. Sometimes older, sometimes younger. He saw a lot of himself in her; the desire to be the best, the drive and determination... The two shared some less than wholesome traits like their vanity, simplistic thinking, and love of puns. Maybe that was why he had acted like he did that day instead of as he had so many times before.

* * *

><p>Cardin had just finished beating Sky into a pale tar from sparring when he decided to take a stroll through Beacon. He had already begun to lighten up with his bullying but he still was more than a little self-centered. That's partially why he hadn't noticed the sobbing Yang that crashed into him.<p>

Blake, who had returned from a two week absence, was leaving the blonde again, despite her protests, Cardin quickly gathered from an upset and furious Yang. For all of his inexperience in helping people, somehow he had gotten through to her that night. Not without some pretty awkward missteps but in the end, what mattered was that he somehow cheered up Yang and got her to go back to Blake.

After that, the boisterous blonde and the brutish brunet became friends. It wasn't a fast process, for Yang took a while to warm up to Cardin, but after a month or so, the two began to work out together. He enjoyed that because while Russell and the rest of the team were his friends, outside of that he didn't have anyone else to really talk to. Not to mention that the rest of his squad were not exactly on par with him. So having someone who could push him was a nice change of pace.

* * *

><p>"One hundred!" cheerfully proclaimed Yang, pushing the weight onto the latch.<p>

"Nice try," chuckled Cardin, looking at the sweaty teen knowingly.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, don't think I didn't hear you skip ten or twenty of those reps."

"And how exactly would you know that?" asked Yang as she sat up to look her spotter in the eyes. "You were gazing off like some old man who had forgotten if he left the stove on."

"Old man?! My birthday is only two weeks before yours!" Cardin ground his teeth and the two students stared each other down.

"Age is more than just your birthday, genius," replied the blonde, wrapping a small towel around her neck, as she grabbed her own water bottle.

"Fair enough," relented the boy, a sneaky grin on his face. "It would explain why I'm so much more mature than you."

Yang blinked a few times before bursting into laughter. "As if! I'm not the one who spent most of first year being a bigot!"

"Wow, your girlfriend is even teaching you to use big words. She should be a teacher here. I mean, none of them can manage to get through your thick skull."

"Okay, that's enough sass from you, smartass." Yang pushed her work out partner onto the bench. "Let's see you get to one hundred. Assuming you can count that high."

"Oooooh it's on, blondie!" What Cardin had failed to notice was that Yang had snuck a few extra weights onto the bar. Once he got to fifty, he swore his arms would fall off while the boisterous bruiser mocked him for giving in so soon.

* * *

><p>As the two left the gym, they were sticky and stinky, having pushed themselves to outdo each other and getting immensely sweaty as a reward. As the two embraced in a quick hug, Cardin caught a twinkle of a smile in Yang's soft lilac eyes. "Same time Thursday?" she asked in a surprisingly quiet voice. It shouldn't be a surprise, Cardin reminded himself. She was always like this after a workout. Yet each and every time, it took him off his guard. She was so loud and in charge when they worked out. But afterwards, the exhaustion brought out a shred of timidity in her voice.<p>

"Of course," replied Cardin, a grin of his own on his face. "And next time, if you cheat again, you'll have to double up on your reps."

Yang merely rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever, you metal wall." She made a back handed wave towards him as she began to walk towards her dorm.

Before Cardin could process what he was about to do, the words were already escaping his mouth. "Say, wanna catch a movie tomorrow?"

Yang froze in his tracks and the armour wearing teen felt immediate regret for what he just asked. It really wasn't what it sounded like, so his mind spat out the first string of words that could make this clear. "You can bring Blake if you want!"

The blonde was not looking at him incredulously. "What are you going to tell me next?" she asked, approaching him, still confused by his offer. "You want me to tell Ruby that you hit on Weiss or something? Because it sounds more and more like you have some sort of weird death wish."

"That… That's not it, Yang. I just… I don't know… Working out together is fun, don't get me wrong, but I figured maybe we should," the boy gestured wildly, attempting to get his point across, "mix it up a bit or something."

"And a movie was the first thing to come to mind?" Yang crossed her arms as she gave Cardin a once-over. "Alright, what movie?"

"Well, I was thinking _Grimm 2: Back to the Revenge_."

"Oh come on, there's no way that could ever match up to the original."

Cardin rolled his eyes. "Great, you're one of _those_ people."

Yang fumed, stamping her foot on the ground as her intense purple eyes bore holes in Cardin's. "No, you don't understand! _Grimm_ was a masterpiece of an action movie! Chris Pearl Baggin was a director genius and this is just some cheap cash-in on his vision!"

"Look you wanna go see this movie or not? If you really don't, I'll go by myself."

Yang looked at him with a bored gaze. "Are you trying to do the puppy dog eyes?"

"No," replied Cardin, as he attempted to do the puppy dog eyes.

"Look, I'll go if you swear to never do that again."

"Deal."

* * *

><p>Cardin stared at the dark ceiling that night, thoughts of going out the next day on his mind. <em>It's not a date<em>, he reminded himself, as if that would calm his nerves. He had taken girls out on dates. He could do that. But Yang wasn't his girlfriend and never would be. No, the blonde was completely enthralled with her Faunus partner, a girl with no love of Cardin in her soul. The more he thought about it, the harder it was to blame Blake for being like that. He had treated her kind so terribly. He was getting better about it but she just can't take any jokes.

He heard stirring in the bed next to his and saw Russell looking at him with concern. "You worried about your date with Yang, boss?"

Cardin turned his head back to the ceiling, letting the words stew. "It's no date, Russell. She's going out with Blake."

He could see his partner nod as he remembered. "Right, the cat Faunus girl. Y'know, I heard they have guy parts."

Cardin looked back at the excited Russell. "What? What has guy parts?"

"Girl Faunus. My dad told me that the females are just temptresses that then—"

Cardin cut him off with a sharp gesture, as he felt himself gag a little. "Yeah, I'm going to pretend you didn't mention any of this."

"Sorry, boss. I just thought—"

"You might want to stop," yawned the team leader, as he felt the fingers of sleep begin to close his eyes. "Seems that kind of thing is dangerous to you."

* * *

><p>Cardin stood outside the movie theatre, tapping his foot as a great deal of other students kept pushing past him to get in. Checking his Scroll, he saw that it was only five minutes until showtime and there was no Yang in sight.<p>

"Yo, Cardin!"

Apparently there was one within earshot though. As the bubbly blonde burst out of the crowd, she pulled her feline girlfriend along by the arm. Her amber eyes glared at Cardin but spoke not a word. They didn't have to; he felt very unwelcome in this situation.

"So you did bring Blake along, huh."

Yang smiled softly. "More like she insisted. I did tell her that you were okay with it, aren't you?"

"Yeah, of course," the boy nervously chuckled, swearing that those eyes weren't blinking.

"Well, I'm not in the mood for a dumb action flick that mostly likely has terribly inaccurate depictions of Faunus in it," Blake said, continuously scowling at her former tormenter. "I merely wanted to ensure that you were not up to any funny business with this idea, Cardin." Turning back to her girlfriend, she kissed her softly on the cheek. "I'll be in Pages, talking to Brook Wyrm; she said she would need some help organizing some things for her big sale coming up. When you are done, come meet me there, okay?"

As the Faunus left the two workout buddies alone, Yang serenely smiled at Cardin. "Isn't she the greatest?"

The boy rolled his eyes. "Come on, we need to hurry up and get our tickets."

Yang raised an eyebrow. "What, you didn't already get them?"

"No, of course not! I didn't know if you were bringing Blake to the movies or not! Hell, you might've brought your other teammates too; I don't know! I'm not spending an extra 20 Lien on a ticket we aren't going to use!" He flipped through his wallet, taking out the required payment and waving it in front of Yang's face. "Just because the Winchester family is famed and wealthy, doesn't mean I can around spending money all willy nilly."

"Right well, that's not important. Let's just go get our tickets already."

Cardin sighed and followed the skipping Yang into the theatre. He wondered why she seemed so happy today. Well, she was always happy but she seemed extra chipper today. Yet asking why seemed like a potentially loaded question so he just decided to bask in her glow.

As the two approached the ticket vendor, Cardin rested his arm on the desk and flashed the part-time worker a charming smile. "Well hello there, beautiful. Two tickets for _Grimm 2: Back to the Revenge_."

"You sure that's the movie you want to be taking your soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend to?" advised the redhead, her tone and expression marking her as a waste of time to Cardin, much to his annoyance.

"Oh, we aren't dating," smiled Yang. "I have higher standards than this."

Cardin groaned. What was it with women and picking on him as of late? Was it because they knew he didn't like to hit them? "In any case, yeah, we'd like tickets to _Grimm 2_."

The redhead rolled her eyes and printed out the tickets and handed them to the duo as Cardin forked over the Lien. "Theatre number eight, on your right."

"Thanks, gorgeous," winked Cardin as he gave one ticket to Yang.

"Never talk to me again," was the reply he got.

* * *

><p>"You are taking this to your grave, Cardin. Understood?"<p>

It was an hour after the movie started and the two stood outside the theatre. The blonde was glaring at her workout partner from behind bloodshot eyes.

"Un-Understood."

Cardin himself was not holding up all too well, a little bleary eyed himself but not to the extent that Yang was. He cursed that ticket vendor; she had done it on purpose. She had given them the tickets to the wrong movie. Yang had suggested leaving when they realized this, but Cardin was not leaving until he got his monies worth.

As the movie played, this quickly revealed itself as a very bad decision. The plot of the movie was about a Faunus boy who fell in love with a human girl but the two were pulled apart by family and society. A pretty straight forward chick flick… Until Cardin realized just how many parallels it drew to Blake and Yang's relationship. After the blonde had already managed to put that together and was screaming at the screen. Despite his hushed attempts to get her to quiet down, theatre security saw the two out, as Yang swore and screamed at the fictional characters on-screen.

Moments like this reminded Cardin that Yang, for all her bluster and actions, was not just another one of the guys. "There's no shame in crying. You're a girl, it happens."

The words were a mistake and he realized it the minute they left his mouth. Yang did too, hoisting him up by the collar of his Beacon uniform and slamming him into the side of building. "And just what is that supposed to mean, you moron?" she chocked from behind her remaining sobs. "Are you looking down on me because I'm a _girl_?!"

"That… That's not what I meant," Cardin said, struggling to pull himself free of his emotionally unstable friend. "You have friends… Friends that accept you for all your craziness and obnoxiousness… A bit of crying won't hurt at this point."

Yang simply held him aloft, as outside the alleyway people went about their day. And just past that, Blake would be working at Pages, likely worrying about her girlfriend being stuck in a theatre with Cardin. And past that, Ruby and Weiss and Team JNPR were back at Beacon, going about their own days but still looking forward to seeing her return. As much as she hated to admit it, Cardin was right and not for the first time. He had the worst way of phrasing his advice, however, and that's what always bothered Yang about accepting it.

Just when Cardin was beginning to turn blue in the face, Yang dropped him down. Landing on his ass, he reached up to accept the helping hand she offered. "Sorry about that, bro, but you kinda were asking for that."

"You and Blake need to take jokes better, that's all," Cardin said, brushing the dirt off his uniform and straightening the cuffs of his blazer. "A few cat puns and girl jokes shouldn't cause you two to blow your gaskets. A sense of humour is all I'm asking you two to get."

Yang punched him in the shoulder, knocking him back into the wall. "Try not to be such a jerk about it and we'll think about it." And yet, there was a hint of a smile twitching on her face.

Cardin smirked, leaving the alleyway with Yang in toe. "I guess it might be worth a shot."


	2. The Concert

**A/N: Hey y'all! After having a great deal of discussion with friends who had helped me write up the first chapter of this, I realized we had enough ideas to make this a multi-chapter fic, so I figured why not? Once again, major shoutouts to Angie (meltthembitches on Twitter [She's the Yang] and weissrabbit on Tumblr; insanely talented artist) for being a major part of the establishment of the Yang and Cardin brOTP and to Hana (momoxtoshiro on and hanasaku-shijin on Tumblr; insanely talented writer) for helping to flesh out the ideas.**

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><p>"I swear on Dust, Yang…"<p>

The blonde had not stopped laughing for the past two minutes, as Cardin continued to grow a deeper hue of crimson with each passing second. Luckily, he had managed to get her into an empty classroom before she had bust her gut laughing in the middle of the halls. Her shaking hands held the cause of this whole blasted situation; a now rather crumpled piece of paper.

"I'm not kidding, blondie!"

The laughing stopped as she struggled to catch her breath. Her face was nearly as flushed as Cardin's but for a very different reason, as she wheezed heavily. He took this opportunity to snatch the wrinkled paper from her hand before she could protest.

"Come on, musclebrains," Yang said, between gasps of breath. "You gonna explain that?"

Cardin scowled, moving towards the door. Peeking his head out, his indigo eyes surveyed the corridor, ensuring that the coast was clear. Seeing no one in the approximate vicinity, he closed the door and walked up to Yang.

"If you so much as breathe a word of this to _anyone_, I will be the one arranging your funeral. Capiche?"

"You and what army?" shot back Yang, winking dangerously at him.

Ever since his arrival at Beacon, it's seemed like Cardin's list of people he could bully into silence had grown precariously short. Not that he planned to strong arm people into silence over much, but this matter… He'd rather not have anyone know about it. Not even Russell and the rest of his teammates knew. Yet here he was; talking to Yang Xiao Long, of all people, about it.

"Fine. I like boy bands. There? You happy?"

There was a silence between the two that seemed to stretch infinitely across time. Cardin swore that he couldn't even hear the sound of breathing. It was a glorious silence. And, like anything glorious for him as of late, it was merely his imagination as Yang's incredibly loud laughter rang through the classroom once again.

* * *

><p>"Okay, that was kind of mean of me," admitted Yang as the two sat alone in Team CRDL's room. It was smaller than Team RWBY's and a large TV screen and couch took up most of the space that wasn't reserved for beds. Cardin had convinced the rest of his team to go out because he needed to talk to Yang alone. He just hoped those idiots would keep their mouths shut so he wouldn't get caught in some rumour that would end with his dismembered body strewn across campus by a certain grumpy kitty cat.<p>

"Kind of?" snarled Cardin, as he gunned Yang down in the first-person shooter they were playing. "If anyone had been within ear-shot…"

"Calm your tits," laughed Yang, before grunting in frustration as Cardin effortlessly offed her in the game again. "Are you spawn-camping?"

"The kiddie gloves are off, blondie."

Yang put the controller down to look at Cardin incredulously. "What's up with that?"

Cardin, seeing that Yang wasn't appearing in his sights yet, put his controller down too. "What's up with what?"

"You always call me 'blondie'. Like, that's not even a real insult."

"And?" Cardin snickered. "You'd rather me call you dunce or ditz or—"

Yang punched him in the shoulder. "Haha, smartass. No, I mean…" Her eyes widened as she was struck by sudden inspiration. "Okay so boy bands."

The Huntsman groaned. "What about them?"

"Who's your favourite Achieve Man?" The blonde bruiser had adjusted her position on the couch so she was facing Cardin face-to-face. "Like, if you had to date one, who would it be?

"None." Cardin saw the look of dissatisfaction on his friend's face. He stared back for a few seconds before sighing. "Ryan."

A hint of a smile grew on Yang's face as she nodded. "You don't say… How about GrimmSync?"

"Justin," came the reply with a shorter hesitation. "Why exactly are you asking me this?"

"Oh, just wanted someone to gush about boy bands with. But there seems to be a pattern here. So, for completion's sake, The Backstreet Huntsmen?"

"If I answer this, will you stop asking?" Yang nodded enthusiastically which only served to make her host groan. "Fine, Nick. We done now?"

"Well, it's just…" Yang's grin grew wider and Cardin's worries escalated. "You seem to have a type."

"Yeah, the type is women," he replied, growing more and more uncomfortable with this conversation. "I have a list of ex-girlfriends you can talk to, if you're still doubtful of that."

"I'm sure," laughed Yang, turning back and picking up her controller. "It's just that, all the guys you picked were tall, lanky, and blond. Kinda like someone we know."

Cardin froze. Was she referring to herself? The Huntsman did have some rather awkward feelings toward the girl who was essentially his closest friend but he knew she was head-over-heels for Blake. As much as he hated the Faunus, he learned quickly to stop hitting on her blonde girlfriend for his own good. But it was more than simply looks that attracted him to Yang; she was one of the few people who was willing to help him move forward. That and she was just like one of the guys. But hot.

"I… don't know what you mean."

"Sure thing, gay boy." Yang jumped excitedly as she picked off Cardin's gaming persona with a well-placed grenade. "Blam!"

"G-Gay boy?" It took a few moments for the dots to connect. "Wait, Jaune?"

"Well duh," said Yang, rolling her eyes. "Who else could I be talking about?"

"I don't know!" exclaimed Cardin, glaring at her. "Besides, you're way more gay than I am!"

"So you admit it!"

"What?! No!"

"Haha!" The sound of gunfire was quickly followed up by a triumphant cheer from Yang. "Get headshot, gay boy!"

It took every fibre in Cardin's body to restrain himself from launching himself at his aggressor. Instead, he settled for violently kicking her ass at a video game. Even a little ways down the hall, the cries of "Camper!" and "No fair!" could be heard crisply and clearly.

* * *

><p>"No way."<p>

"C'mon, musclebr—I mean Cardin!" Yang had snuck up on the orange haired youth while he had been working in one of the computer labs on campus. Luckily, everyone else in the room was listening to videos or music so they couldn't hear the blonde's begging.

"I guess I wasn't clear. No way… in _hell_."

"But you like them as much as I do!"

Cardin rolled his eyes, as he pushed himself back in his chair to look Yang in the eyes, her big lilac eyes wider than usual. He also saw them getting watery. "Are you trying to do the puppy dog eyes?"

"No," replied Yang, as she attempted to do the puppy dog eyes.

"Well, that's your answer," said Cardin, returning to his essay he owed Professor Port on Boarbatusk anatomy. Although it was difficult with Yang sitting on the desk next to his and kicking him idly.

"Cardin!" Yang drawled in protest as she took out the poster she had ripped from the hallway and draped it over the desktop's monitor. "They're coming to Vale for their new album tour! When will we have another chance like this?!"

"Next year," dryly responded Cardin, pushing the poster out of his way. "They drop a new album every year, Yang."

"Yeah but this one was really good!" Yang huffed. "Look, I'm going to the concert whether you are or not. I just thought that since you like them too, you'd want to go."

Cardin glared at the computer in front of him. The cursor blinked as if to taunt him. Being honest with himself, he really wanted to go. Besides, he really wasn't getting any more work done like this. The last three sentences were simply rearranged versions of themselves.

"Fine."

Yang pulled him to his feet and embraced him in a tight hug, driving the wind from his lungs. "I knew it!" she squealed as a few of the other students unplugged their earphones. Cardin did not like the suspicious looks they were sending his way.

Before he could push the blonde off of him, she had hopped into his seat and opened up an internet browser window. Cardin was just a little impressed at how fast Yang could type; he followed a strict 'search and destroy' typing style which meant essays took days longer than they had to. In the blink of an eye, she was already at the checkout for the ticket site. Spinning around in the chair, she looked a little too proud of herself. "100 Lien for front-row seats."

Cardin's jaw dropped. "Fr-Front row?!" He looked back at the poster she had handed him again. "Yang, the show is in a week. How the hell did you get front row seats?!"

A mischievous grin played across her face. "I have my ways, musclebrains. Let's just say I'm a heck of a good negotiator and leave it at that. Now pay up, big boy."

As he slowly pulled out his wallet and then the cash, he stared at her incredulously, his face rather pale. "Yang, I swear on Dust if you did something illegal for this…"

Pocketing the money in her coat pocket, she winked. "Relax, its fine. Just have some good contacts, that's all."

Cardin handed her back the poster, rolled up, and sat back down in the seat as she ran off. He returned to staring at the blinking cursor of his document, as Yang had graciously closed off the ticket site. But there was no way he could think about how many hearts a female Boarbatusk had now; his own was now pumping blood to the beat of his favourite song.

* * *

><p>Cardin was nervous and stamping his right foot to try and shake it. He was standing at the airbus terminal and checking his watch. Yang wasn't early, like he was. He was sure she'd show up on time but what if she didn't? What if this was all some cruel joke that she was playing on him? Pretend to befriend him to learn his darkest secrets and spread them around school while robbing him in the process? He had looked up the price of front-row tickets online afterwards and they clocked in at a lot higher than Yang had taken from him. He couldn't trust her but it was too late. She had taken his money and left him here alone, while she informed the entirety of Beacon about his love for—<p>

"Yo, Cardin!"

Yang's audible greeting was quickly followed by a heavy punch to the shoulder, as she handed Cardin his ticket. "Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long, gay boy."

Cardin really wanted to try and smack some sense into her for continuously insulting his masculinity but he wasn't brain dead. So he settled for a seething glare, which succeeded in only making the blonde roll her eyes. Before he could give her a strongly worded rebuttal, the sound of an arriving airbus drowned out his thoughts.

"Just in time, eh?" laughed Yang, pulling him by the arm into the line to get on. While Cardin was wearing his usual wear, minus the armour, Yang was decked out in The Achieve Men gear, including two giant foam fingers. "Oh right, you can use this since you don't have concert stuff," she said as she passed one of the ridiculous overpriced souvenirs his way. He made it a point to ignore the curious stares from other passengers but none of them saw anything other than a boyfriend being dragged along by his girlfriend to see some shallow boy band.

A few more fans of The Achieve Men packed onto the bus, all looking a little younger than Yang, probably closer to her sister's age and all of them were girls. A handful of them even began gushing with Yang while Cardin merely sat back and looked out the window. Sure, he was excited to not only be seeing The Achieve Men in concert but also to have front row seats. However, there was still that lingering pride he clung to; that need to be feared and respected. He had no illusions; what little dignity he had would be washed away by this event if word got out. And all it took was one stray remark from Yang or someone else from Beacon to show up…

The sudden halt of the airbus drew Cardin from his inner thoughts as the doors opened. A smiling Yang bounded up and dragged him off by the arm, accompanied by the slew of other girls who were all eager to get going to the concert as well. He muttered a complaint under his breath, to maintain his guise as an unhappy boyfriend along for the ride, but felt a small smile tug on his lips. He had wanted to see The Achieve Men ever since he first heard of them and now he was going to. He shuddered with excitement as he did his utmost to not stumble as he continued to be dragged along.

* * *

><p>As the duo sat down in the enormous theatre, they smiled to each other. Cardin was still more than a little nervous as to how Yang got these amazing tickets and prayed that he'd be going home tonight with his kneecaps intact. "They're always amazing live," Yang yelled in Cardin's ear, so she could be heard over the clamour of pre-teen girls screeching and waving large Bristol board banners.<p>

But sight and sound weren't the only senses that were in overdrive at the concert. Cardin smelled way too much perfume for his tastes; preteens really shouldn't be stealing their mothers' perfumes. As he gagged, he picked up on the taste of the stale air, not helping his developing nausea. Yang just laughed at his reactions, which _did_ help with the upset stomach. Then her words clicked and he put one and one together. Cardin was no genius but he was pretty proud of his deductive skills.

"How many of them have you slept with?"

Yang's lilac eyes were as wide as saucers when she heard Cardin's insinuation. It was such a crude and insensitive thing to say but there was no judgment in the question. The orange-haired boy was genuinely curious. "None of them, you creep!" Yang responded, glaring at her now frightened friend.

"Then how? You know they're good live and you magically got your hands on front row tickets at a crazy reduced price a week from the show!"

"You don't accuse someone of sleeping around over that, you moron!"

"Well, then," Cardin crossed his arms and a smug smirk sneaked onto his face. "How did you manage it then?"

Yang was quiet before chuckling softly and starting to play with her hair. "I uhh… I may have dated one of them when I was younger…" Cardin snickered which caused her to look up and glare at him. "I WAS FIFTEEN, YOU SICKO!"

Yang was about to deck him in the face when the crowd erupted into cheers, as the boys made their way on stage. The six members of The Achieve Men were of varying heights and builds, some even initially seeming to not fit the standard mould for boy band members, like the bearded Jack. They were also unusual in that each had a signature outfit, rather than dressing to match. As they smiled charismatically and waved to the crowd, Yang and Cardin both returned to their seats and joined the raucous cheering.

"How are you doing tonight, my roses?" crooned Ray, the glasses wearing frontman. The sound of preteen screeches flew back into his face, answering his question rather clearly.

"It's wonderful to be here in Vale City tonight," spoke Gavin, with an accent that Cardin identified as British, despite not knowing what British meant.

"We're gonna give you one heckuva show!" roared Michael, the one with curly hair. He was often marked as the rebellious one of the group, due to his 'intensive' language and devil-may-care attitude. Even as a fan of the group and genre, Cardin rolled his eyes at how overly clichéd and characterized the whole thing was. And yet, he still loved it because despite all the ridiculousness, the music was catchy as all hell.

Cardin felt a jab of an elbow and he turned to see Yang, in the exact same boat as he was, fake gagging as the boys ran through their introductions. He couldn't help but laugh which made her crack a smile too. However, the sound of a blaring synth roared to life, causing them to redirect their attention to the on-coming performance of the hit song "My Craft".

* * *

><p>As the performance wound to a close, Cardin and Yang were giggling like the little girls they were in attendance with. The songs had been performed perfectly and the entire experience had really hit home for Cardin, since this was his first time at a live concert. Yang, while enjoying the concert herself, could not get over how invested her testosterone fueled friend got about the whole event. He was like Ruby in a cookie factory, but with an understanding of restraint. If anything, he liked the concert more than the blonde, which made her wonder why.<p>

Before she could delve into that bottomless subject, she received a tap on the shoulder from a rather large man, covered in a great deal of tattoos. "You Yang Xiao Long?"

The gruff voice made her chuckle a little while Cardin saw him and immediately grew worried. "Yup, I'm the one and only," laughed Yang, flexing a little and flashing a bright smile the bouncer's way. He merely rolled his eyes.

"The boys… Sorry, The Achieve Men were wonderin' if you wanted ta talk to them backstage." He looked suspiciously at the now more composed Cardin. "Bring yer boyfriend too, if you want."

"Oh, he's not my boyfriend," laughed Yang, grabbing Cardin by the arm. "But we should really get going…"

"C'mon, Yang!" pleaded her friend, grabbing her hands in his. "When will I ever get to meet these guys if not now?"

"Hopefully never," muttered the blonde. Seeing that Cardin wasn't going to relinquish his grip any time soon, all she could do was sigh. The bouncer did not seem to be in the mood for letting them walk out on his bosses either. "Lead the way, tats."

* * *

><p>"Well, well, well… If it isn't my old flame! How are you doing, my Goldilocks?"<p>

In response to Ray's greeting, the fiery blonde glared at him with lilac eyes, with a faint red tint detectable in them. While he chuckled nervously, Cardin was snickering as he made a mental note of 'Goldilocks'. The rest of the boy band was in attendance along with Cardin and Yang's sizable guide and what appeared to be his identical twin brother. They even had the same tattoos.

"Good concert, guys!" Cardin said, his inner fanboy getting the better of him. His reaction made the guys finally take their eyes off Yang to see her friend.

"You get over Ray with this trash?" snarked Geoff, admiring his own manicured fingernails behind his shades. The other members of the band chuckled in agreement. Suddenly, all of the starstruck joy in Cardin's eyes vanished, replaced by anger.

"First of all, he's not my boyfriend," Yang snarled, taking an aggressive step towards the now somewhat unnerved boy band. "Secondly, he's no trash. The only trash I ever wasted my time with was you creeps. I had hoped you would've matured but it seems like you losers are still acting like you're running the playground."

The bouncers tensed, looking to Ray for an order, who merely waved them off with a small smile. "Now, now, Yang dearest, no need for such rude remarks. We were merely joking around, is all." The glint in his eye vehemently disagreed. "But we should get to the reason why we're here… I need a date for a big premier event and you would do quite nicely." Ray's grin sent shivers down Cardin's spine as the pop singer produced a red rose from seemingly nowhere. He knew that smile too well; it was one of a spoiled and sinister man.

"I can do a lot of things nicely," replied Yang, the red tint glowing just beneath the purple again. "Not a single one of which I plan to do with you, Ray. So you can shove that rose right up your—"

The bouncers cleared their throats, as they moved in between the Beacon students and the pop stars. This situation was rapidly going from bad for worse. Cardin would have to be the thinker of the two for once, since Yang had some pretty bad blood with these creeps, especially Ray.

"Your bouncers are cute," he spoke up, drawing on a voice that was not yet forgotten to him. The bouncers might be tough guys, but The Achieve Men weren't. Cardin had bullied far scarier people to tears. "But can they go toe-to-toe with experienced Hunters?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, you dope?" asked Michael, watching Cardin carefully. But the teen saw it in the singer's eyes. Not just him but all of The Achieve Men had it in their eyes. The one emotion Cardin had mastered manipulating: fear.

"It means that Yang and I could clear you punks out in under five minutes without breaking a sweat, is all." Cardin's sneer was one that could strike terror into many a person and these spoiled boys were no exception.

"I-I thought you were a f-fan," laughed Ray nervously, toying with the red rose he still held in his hand.

"Not of you. Of your singing; something you would still be capable of doing in a wheelchair."

Even the bouncers were looking a bit worried, for Cardin's voice was calm and clear. It was a voice of truth and control. Yang picked up on the queue and hopped in herself, cocking Ember Celica as she shed the ridiculous foam hand. The sound of weaponry sealed it.

"Let's get going, Yang," said Cardin, turning his back on the pop stars. He was not a fool and was merely waiting for the signal.

"Get him!" There it was.

As the one bouncer leaped at Cardin, he crouched and put a hand over his left fist. Pushing and using his opponent's momentum against him, he drove his elbow into the gut of the bodyguard, halting him in his tracks. The scream of pain and gasp to start breathing brought a small smile to Cardin's face as his assailant fell to his knees.

The Achieve Men were all wide-eyed and scrambling to put distance between themselves and the teen who had dispatched their hired help in a second. Cardin just laughed while Yang crossed her arms menacingly. "Now, if I hear any of you creeping on my friend ever again… I'll have you singing out a straw. I'm sure that with the auto-tune, the difference will be barely noticeable."

There were some whimpers and vicious nods as Cardin and Yang left, both glad to be free of the scumbags who they had once seen as brilliant stars.

* * *

><p>"I could've taken care of it myself, y'know."<p>

Cardin nodded as the two were walking back to the airbus station, riding high on his display of masculinity. "Obviously you could've, Yang, but we only needed to scare them, not bury them six feet under. I saw that look in your eyes."

"Whatever… That was kinda cool though, I have to admit. Even a musclebrain like you can have their moments, it seems."

Cardin laughed at the half-hearted insult. "As can you, 'Goldilocks'."

The tough guy image he had portrayed only minutes ago was now in shambles as he groaned in pain from the punch Yang dropped on his shoulder.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Just so y'all know, this'll be a five-part fic so there will be three more chapters. This'll be my main writing project outside of some Arkos I'm working on for Valentine's Day until it's done so hopefully I should get it done by March. Fingers crossed. Thanks for reading! Comments and criticisms are much appreciated!**


	3. The Spar

**A/N: Hey sorry for literally vanishing off the face of the earth on here. I have done some writing stuff but most of it is really short so I didn't bother posting it here. I know this isn't the one I get pestered to update but let's be real; there's enough people sailing the good ship Arkos that my contribution isn't really needed nor able to measure up. So my favourite, super OOC BrOTP returns due to some friends pestering me to get back to it. Hope you enjoy and sorry to all of you who don't get this stuff at all.**

"That's a stupid idea, even for you, Yang," Cardin grunted, as he continued his reps on the butterfly machine.

"Why, are the other guys that bad?" the blonde inquired, taking a long swig from her water bottle.

"That's not the issue and you know it." As the former bully allowed his arms to drop, the heavy weights clanked back into place. He lumbered to his feet and grabbed his towel off the back of the machine. "Just tell me that no one else knows about the concert or any of this."

"Dude, I cannot believe you'd accuse me of that."

"You told Blake, didn't you?" Cardin knew Yang did, before her mannerisms gave her away. The cat Faunus had almost warmed up to her former aggressor. Almost but Cardin had no illusions that that bridge was still somehow burning at the bottom of the ocean.

"Okay, fine," admitted Yang, under the knowing purple gaze of her workout buddy. "But she won't tell anyone. Huntresses honour." The blonde slashed her thumb across her heart.

"I'm sure," replied the orange-haired teen, making no attempt to mask his dripping sarcastic tone. "In any case, I'm not doing it."

"Look, even if they suck at singing, that's what auto-tune is for."

"Again, missing the point." Cardin took a brief gulp of water before continuing, his tone vastly quieter and almost softer. "They still don't know."

Yang was astonished. "How? I mean, they're your team!"

"I know," muttered Cardin. "But I know these guys. Russell would go and try to blackmail me with it. Sky and Dove would go with him, because despite being named for birds, they are more like lemmings." Cardin spit by his ankle. "Loyalty of pigs."

"Hate to interrupt your Old McDonald rehearsal but check out ten-o'-clock."

Cardin was about to object to Yang's smartass remark when she forcibly turned his body to see what was entering the gym. Blond, tall, and not-so-scraggly, Jaune walked in with Pyrrha at his side. The two were laughing as a lot of the fellow gym goers were also looking with astonishment. Sure, there were rumours about Pyrrha training Jaune but for the first time the results were on full display. Jaune's arms were no longer hidden by his oversized hoodie and were not the noodle-y consistency everyone was expecting. Even through his workout hoodie, he had some clearly visible musculature developing.

And Pyrrha, well. Everyone knew she was a well-honed force to be reckoned with. Cardin swore he still had some bruises from their fight back in first year. But she never visited the gym. At least, no one ever saw her here. People said she came here to train only when it was empty. Others said she did all of her workouts in Emerald Forest, benchpressing Ursas and armwrestling Beowolves. Cardin used to laugh off these ridiculous stories but a year later, he was finding the stories to be far more plausible than not.

"You know," said Yang, drawing Cardin out of his thoughts. "Jaune's got some good moves…"

"No."

"Maybe he'd be a decent singer too…"

"No."

"If you don't go up and ask him, I will."

Cardin's face paled. "Y-You wouldn't…"

"I'm sure," replied the blonde teen, making no attempt to mask her dripping sarcastic tone.

The silence between the two grew as they stared each other down. A moment later, Cardin groaned and threw his hands up in the air. "Fine. Stay here."

As Cardin made his way to the entrance of the gym, he saw that the dynamic duo had drawn an audience as people crowded around the unusual visitors. Cardin had no issue shoving people out of the way to get to his goal, a plan formulating in his mind as he approached Jaune and Pyrrha.

"Jauney Boy, haven't seen you around here before," chuckled Cardin, as he managed to get face-to-face with his former favourite chew toy. The instantaneous flash of fear on Jaune's face and contempt on Pyrrha's face confirmed that they still saw him for the thug he was. He couldn't blame them for that but he felt himself conflicted on whether to take pride or be somewhat upset about it. That was a choice for another time.

"Cardin," Jaune and Pyrrha replied, their voices both quiet but also retaining a certain edge to them.

"Look, I ain't here for a fight," began Cardin before stopping himself with a laugh. "Well, I am, sort of. It's been a while since you and I had a good sparring match, Jauney Boy."

"Then allow me to be the one to put you in your place," said Pyrrha, stepping forward.

"Well, we all know how that would go, Nikos," Cardin replied, seeing a look of shock and confusion paint itself across the Mistrali teen's face. "I'm looking for someone in my own weight class, not several notches above it."

Jaune and Pyrrha shared a momentary glance before the blond stepped forward. "If you think I'm too scared to fight you…"

"I know you ain't, blondie," sneered Cardin, tilting his head towards the sparring ring. "I just want to see if your looks are just that or if you actually learned anything."

As Cardin finished adjusting his armour and made his way to the ring, he felt a hand on his shoulder. "You were supposed to ask him about helping you start a boy band. How badly did you fuck that up?"

Yang only received a shrug in reply as Cardin stood opposing a foe he had triumphed over easily in the past. But this wasn't the Jaune he had cowed into submission a year ago. He could tell as much by looking in those fierce blue eyes.

"You're going down, Cardin!" Jaune shouted, charging towards Cardin. Maybe the former bully gave his opponent too much credit. The headlong charge was still as reckless as it was stupid.

"Big words for a chump!" replied Cardin, winding up his mace arm to intercept the telegraphed assault. But at the last second, Jaune turned on his heel and rolled to the side, causing Cardin's blow to swipe at empty air and crunch into the ring. "Wait, what?"

Jaune wasted no time in charging from his new angle and slashing at his former antagonist. But Cardin was not going to lie down. Not in front of the crowd that had gathered here. Not after losing so many times to Yang. Not now.

The sound of clashing metal echoed the gym as the blade and mace met time and time again. _How did I end up on the defensive?!_ thought Cardin, narrowly catching another swing with his own weapon. Well enough was enough. Another horizontal swing from Jaune lashed out. It was now or never. Instead of bringing his weapon up, Cardin ducked the attack and found himself standing to Jaune's side, where the blue-eyed hunter-in-training was vulnerable. _Gotcha._ Cardin wound up his attack and aimed for Jaune's back, where it would knock him flying and set the momentum in his favour.

The blow landed but not like Cardin had intended. His mighty mace's assault bounced off its target. Worse still, it seemed the strength of the attack was repelled with equal force, wrenching the weapon from Cardin's grip and tossing it to the other side of the arena with a loud clatter. Somehow, the situation was even less fortunate than that; Jaune was already turning back to face him.

"Don't give up now, musclehead!"

Jaune spun to the audience and saw Yang. "Yang?! Why are you cheering on this jerk?!" Yang only shrugged, but Cardin silently thanked her immensely. By the time Jaune turned his attention back to the fight, Cardin once again had his hands wrapped around his trusty weapon.

"Nice parlour trick, Arc," scoffed Cardin, spinning his mace around his hand. "But enough toying around!" Slamming his weapon into the ground with enough force to rattle the ring, an explosive trail shot out of the ground towards Jaune. The blond easily rolled out of the way but found himself barely having the time to raise his shield to block Cardin's renewed assault.

The two jumped back from the clash, both grinning from ear-to-ear. It did not last long, as the two threw themselves at each other. The mace slammed into the shield with boneshattering force, as Jaune planted his back leg onto the ground. The force of the blow made the blond sink to a knee… Or so it appeared. As Jaune's knee hit the hard floor, he dropped his blade and shield, throwing the airborne Cardin into a state of off-balance.

What happened next, Yang would remind Cardin of for the next two weeks. Jaune wrapped his now free arms around Cardin's waste, his hands gripping his elbows. The momentum carried the larger teen as Jaune bent his back. About a second after the mace had hit the shield, Cardin found himself slamming head first into the ground.

Three words Cardin never expected to hear were then read out in a monotonous robotic voice. _Jaune Arc wins._ The voice made his head hurt. Well, it added to the ringing pain in any case. So did the roaring applause of the crowd. Grumbling, Cardin balled up his fists and pushed himself to a kneeling position. He lost to Jaune Arc. He would never live this down.

"Good fight, Cardin."

Cardin looked up to see Jaune extending a hand down to him. Grabbing it, he pulled himself up. "Yeah, sure. Next time I won't go easy on ya." But the jab was spoken with a slight smile, which Jaune caught.

"Right, now that the kiddies have had their turn, time for your main event!" Yang hopped onto the ring to raucous applause. "Pyrrha Nikos. You and me. I need a challenge for once."

As Cardin and Jaune made their way out of the ring and Pyrrha made her way in, the blond turned to his vanquished opponent. "Is she always like this?"

"No. She's more of the punch first, roar challenges second type."

Yang watched her opponent take her position across the ring, her lilac eyes burning with eagerness. She had always wanted a rematch after losing to Pyrrha in a narrow defeat back in first year. But not this time. Yang was tougher than ever and if Pyrrha had spent most of her time training Jaune, she'd be rusty.

"I'm gonna win this time, Pyrrha," sneered Yang, bashing Ember Celica together before launching herself forward. Pyrrha wasn't one to participate in trash talk, so she readied her shield for the oncoming charge.

As the blonde lashed out with blow after blow, Cardin watched with awe as Pyrrha blocked every single strike effortlessly. Or so it initially seemed, but he saw the Mistrali champion furrowing her brow. Champion Pyrrha may be, but Yang was a monster in a fight; a dragon with the force to fight beyond what human limits should be.

"Pyrrha's won," said Jaune, handing Cardin an ice pack for his black eye.

The orange-haired teen scoffed. "I know Pyrrha's good but Yang is not to be underestimated. And the last time they fought, they were evenly matched."

Jaune shrugged and the two turned back to the fight. Yang was still blazing forward, each blow now clearly taking its toll on Pyrrha. But in a flash, the sword expanded into a spear and the length of the weapon caught Yang in the throat and sent her reeling backwards. A flash of red in those lilac eyes told Cardin all he needed to know; the match was over and Pyrrha couldn't stand to have another of Yang's blows land, blocked or not. And Yang was too fast for Pyrrha to dodge.

"I get wanting your girlfriend to win, but Pyrrha's toast now," said Cardin.

"You'll see," replied Jaune, taking a long draw from his juice box.

As Yang charged back, her long blonde hair flowing and glowing behind her, her fists became a blur. But somehow they were an inaccurate blur, somehow missing Pyrrha each time. The Mistrali champion was not phased in the slightest and launched herself into the center of the strikes, sending Yang flying a swing of her sword. Yang's feet had hardly touched the ground before she was rocketing towards her opponent again, aiming a single punch for Pyrrha's bright green eyes.

Pyrrha smirked and tilted her head to the left. The fist soared right through where her face had been a split second prior, before Yang's chin was slammed with Pyrrha's round shield. The blow lifted the bruiser off her feet and when she came back down, the buzzer sounded. _Pyrrha Nikos wins_.

The crowd was silent. Yang and, to a lesser degree, Cardin ruled the sparring ring at the gym. And not only had Cardin lost to someone not named Yang, but she had lost as well. The silence did not last long, however, as the captive audience screamed their applause. Pyrrha, like Jaune, helped her beaten opponent to their feet and the two exchanged congratulations on the match.

Cardin just turned slowly to look at Jaune, who had the most infuriating 'I-told-you-so' grin on his face. "Just drink your damn juice box, Arc."

On the airbus back to school, Yang and Cardin nursed their physical injuries and wounded pride. While neither had lost too resoundingly, they had both lost to newcomers to the gym.

"I freaking had her!" exclaimed Yang, quickly quietening down and wincing as her side pain flared up again.

"I know the feeling," muttered Cardin. "It never seems like she's moving fast enough to avoid you but she always does. Besides, it could be worse."

"Yeah. I could've lost to Jaune Arc."

"Well, I was saying you could've lost a lot easier, but sure. Make fun of me some more."

"Oh come on, Cardin," Yang's laughed helped soothe Cardin's bristliness somewhat. "You did alright yourself. But I gotta give ladykiller some props on that suplex. It was textbook."

Cardin sighed. "I really liked that gym. I can't go back there anymore. Not now."

"You lost one little fight."

"One little fight to Jaune Arc is all my reputation needs. Not to mention all those fun public humiliation matches against you…"

"You know what I have to say to that?"

Cardin moaned. It had been a while but he knew exactly what was next. "Get good?"

"Get good." Yang's posture straightened. "You aren't bad, Cardin, but you can't rely on brute strength all the time. Sometimes you gotta be a bit faster on your feet. And a bit faster up here," she tapped her forehead, "but I realize that's asking a bit much of you."

Cardin just sighed and held the mostly melted ice pack to his eye again. "You're right; I'm no good. A failure of a hunter."

"Are you deaf or something? Did you not just hear me say 'you aren't bad, Cardin' or does your mind just blank out everything before your name gets said?"

"Or what?" Cardin managed a weak laugh. "But seriously, Yang, why bother with me?"

"Because you've helped me out sometimes," she muttered. "And if you were there for me when I needed it, you're my friend. So I'll be there for you, capiche?" A heavy slap on the back made both of the battered Beacon students wince.

"Thanks, Yang."

"Don't mention it…" Yang suddenly punched Cardin on the arm, eliciting a shout of pain.

"What the hell was that for?!"

"You moron! You never asked Jaune about joining your boy band!"


	4. The Rally

**A/N:** Holy schnapples am I really updating this? The answer is yes, as you can tell. Hate to disappoint but this and the next/final chapter are not going to be as humorous as the rest of this fic, but I kind of intended that since the start. I'm hoping to have the final chapter up before the end of the month and then I can finally wash my hands of this shit and never worry about writing Cardin again. Probably.

* * *

><p>Yang's impatient foot tapping was slowly driving Cardin nuts. He tried to focus on the screen but that incessant noise just kept getting into his ear. When Yang's annoyed tones finally spoke up, it was almost a relief. "And why not, exactly?"<p>

Cardin grumbled, leaning back in the beanbag chair. Dropping the controller, he turned to face Yang. "Listen, I definitely would go but I kind of like not getting killed by a bunch of Faunus supremacists."

Yang glared at him, her lilac eyes gaining a crimson tint. "Listen, smartass, this isn't a White Fang meeting. It's a peaceful demonstration."

"Yeah," came the sarcastic reply as Cardin returned to his game, gritting his teeth as he bounced around in the chair. "I'm sure these peaceful demonstrators will welcome me with open arms so they can shove their claws in my back."

Yang's intense gaze was burning the back of Cardin's neck. "Don't be so difficult. Blake's going to be speaking on behalf of young Faunus in the city and it's going to be on TV. The least you could do is support your friend."

Cardin seethed at Yang's statement. Ruby must've gotten her naivety from her older sister, he concluded. Either that or she really didn't understand what the word 'friend' meant because it was certainly not to be used to describe him and Blake. The day Blake stopped pissing Cardin off would be the day he died and he was sure the reverse was true. Her holier-than-thou attitude made being a good person far more difficult than it had to be. No matter what he did, it just wasn't good enough.

There was that occasion when he had held the door open for Blake and her book club. The glares he had gotten for such a kind and innocuous thing was astonishing. He had even showered the ladies with compliments and their glares only worsened. Apparently being helpful and making small talk was considered 'offensive', Blake had said. Well, she described the actions differently but it was the same idea.

Then there was that mission when Team RWBY and Team CRDL got paired up to investigate some rumours that a town just outside of the Vale City borders was under a Grimm attack. Sure enough, the rumours were true and the eight first-years had to push back the tide of black fur and white masks. Things went bad quite quickly and the group had to think fast to save what little they could.

Cardin had suggested that they detonate the explosives they had found along the north edge of the town. Unfortunately, it would result in some casualties but the people who had the resources could rebuild the outer rim again. Blake loudly objected, saying something about how there were more Faunus lives at risk there and how that's what Cardin had wanted. He wasn't sure how it was his fault that they chose to live so close to the wilderness but they had to be prepared for the inevitable.

Cardin realized in hindsight it really shouldn't have surprised him when his idea was outvoted as the course of action. Since the incident with the Ursa back in Forever Falls, nothing ever worked in his favour anymore. It was like the world didn't want him to be a better person. It was infuriating.

The final result of the mission was Team RWBY fought the Grimm head on while Team CRDL was left with the duty of evacuating those closest to the risk. It was embarrassing that his team didn't even get one kill while Team RWBY got all the glory. As usual. Not only that but he had a scare when one of the little dog-eared Faunus bit him. Little runt could've gotten him infected with Dust knows what disease.

"Blake is not my friend," Cardin said. "Not from a lack of me trying but I think she'd prefer if I wasn't there."

"Well, you're my friend, right?"

Cardin froze, refusing to face Yang. Yang was his friend, one of his only friends. She had stood up for him time and time again, even to Blake. She trained with him, laughed with him, hung out with him. Cardin realized calling her a friend was a disservice. She was, without a doubt, his best friend.

"Y-Yeah, I guess," he grumbled.

"Then you could help me with flyer duties, at least." Yang tossed one his way. "It's before the rally, anyways."

As the flyer landed on his lap, Cardin turned to watch Yang leave the room. "Sure, but you owe me."

As Yang stood in the frame, she turned back to look at Cardin. "If you show up to the actual rally? Then we'll talk about me owing you anything."

As she left, Cardin finally left his game and looked at the flyer. To his surprise, Blake's face wasn't on the cover, glaring at him. In fact, the only place Blake's name showed up was easily missed. _What a saint_, thought Cardin to himself, rolling his eyes. But in the end, he told Yang he'd help and there was no way he was going to let her down. She had done so much for him that it was really him that owed her. Not that he'd ever say that; she'd probably use the favour for an hour long sparring match and there was no way he'd survive that torture.

* * *

><p>"He's not going to show," muttered Blake, a small wave of relief washing over her. She knew Yang only meant well but inviting Cardin was not a good idea. He was crude and had a history of treating Faunus poorly. He would do far more harm than good at this rally, even if all he was doing was handing out flyers.<p>

"He will," replied Yang, tying up her long blonde hair into a cascading ponytail. The rally wouldn't be for another four hours, which gave them time to spread further word about the event. Yang really hoped Cardin would show because of the same reasons Blake didn't; Yang believed that Cardin's history was in the past. He would be an example that even people who bullied and mistreated Faunus could see the error in their ways. "He's a good guy…"

"What about the mission last month?" asked Blake. "He was willing to just let all those people die."

"He didn't want to, he was just being realistic. You don't know him as well as I do—"

"Thank Dust for that…" Blake muttered under her breath.

"—but he really had a tough time making that call. If the rumours had been entirely accurate, there was no way we would've been able to hold off all the Grimm."

Blake sighed. She really didn't want to have this argument again. She knew Cardin was still the same asshole, just with a new can of paint. But Yang was ever the optimist. While part of her just wanted to let the argument die, she really was afraid what might happen to Yang if Cardin ever hurt her. As tough as Yang was, she really needed every friend she had. Unless that friend happened to be a heartless scumbag.

As the two finally reached the center of the park, they found their set-up completely intact. The desk at the front was set-up with the speakers and the hundred or so chairs for the speech were all there. The pile of signs for those who wished to wield one but did not have the time or means to make their own were available next to the desk. However, one thing, or rather, a few piles of one thing was missing.

"Where are the flyers?"

"I put them on the desk ten minutes ago," muttered Yang, looking to see if maybe the wind had blown them away. Blake knew that wasn't possible as there was not even a breeze on this day. She knew what had happened.

"Cardin stole them."

"What, to hand them out?" Yang chuckled. "No way; I told him we'd be handing them out in about half an hour. Besides, we had way too many for him to grab up."

"No, Yang," Blake was doing her utmost to suppress her anger. She knew Cardin was a piece of shit but this was a new low. She had worked so hard on getting this protest ready. She filed the permission to have the park for her allotted time. She had spoken with news anchors so that there would be coverage of the event. She had spent hours designing the flyers, signs, and memorizing her speech. And that bastard had—

"Can I interest you two young ladies in attending an informative rally this afternoon? Unfortunately, these are my last two flyers but feel free to invite any friends."

Yang and Blake spun around to find Cardin standing there, a smug grin plastered across his face as he held two flyers out for them. Yang smiled back but Blake only scowled as she ripped the brochures from his grip. "Where are the rest?"

"What do you mean?" asked Cardin, his smugness replaced with confusion.

"We had 250 flyers, Cardin," snarled Blake. "Where are the rest? Did you throw them in the trash?"

"What? No! I recruited some other people to help hand out the notices."

"Who?"

"My team."

Blake shook her head. Of course, he would put off the work on others. Others even less trustworthy than him. "So they are in the trash."

A look of annoyance flashed on Cardin's face. "Listen here, Blake. I know my team aren't exactly saints but they listen to me. Besides, anything you're going to threaten me with, I've told them they can expect far worse if they ruin this."

"No one's threatening anyone here," said Yang, stepping between the two. "What are you doing here this early anyway, Cardin?"

Cardin sighed and took a step back, running a hand through his orange-brown hair. "I thought about it and realized that if I'm going to be helping a friend, I'd be better off not half-assing it."

"You're no friend of mine," said Blake, still standing against Yang's outstretched arm.

"Yeah, no shit," replied Cardin. "But Yang asked me to help out and _she_ is my friend." Cardin took another deep breath, before turning to Yang. "Now what else do you need me to do?"

Yang looked back at Blake, who finally took a step back. "Well, we have some spare time so you can help me get the refreshments while Yang checks up on your team, to make sure they are actually doing what you said they are."

"Fine with me," replied Cardin. "Lead the way."

* * *

><p>Yang watched as Cardin and Blake left, the two finally deciding silence was better than squabbling. She watched as her two best friends walked off, their distaste for each other practically radiating off of them.<p>

She took a momentary seat to fan herself with the spare flyers Cardin had given them. Even in her shorts and light t-shirt, this weather was killing her. Maybe it was due to the fact she naturally was hotter than most that a heated summer's day with no breeze really drained her. Seeing those two lose their cool at each other certainly wasn't doing her any favours, though.

As she got up to go look for the remaining members of Team CRDL, she just hoped she didn't have to clean up Cardin's corpse by the end of the day. She did appreciate having him as a friend. That and Blake would likely make a pretty nasty mess.

* * *

><p>Cardin hated the heat and he figured that maybe that was one of maybe two things he had in common with Blake, judging by the sweat that was beginning to bead along her furrowed brow. Each of them carried two large cases of water as they made their way down the street to the park. Aside from the occasional grunt, not a single word was spoken between the two of them. Cardin was happy with that as he had enough accusations about his character out of her today.<p>

"Why do you think Yang likes you as a friend?"

_Of course this would happen as I enjoy the silence…_ Cardin attempted to shrug, despite the load he was carrying. "I'm sure you'll give me a wonderful answer if I let you."

Blake's laugh was harsh and faked. "Well it isn't your sense of humour if that is the best comeback you can come up with. But I don't know myself. I certainly can't see any reason."

Cardin did his best to keep his growl in check. Cardin felt the same towards Blake. Aside from what even he had to admit was bewitching good looks, he found Blake was far too concerned with herself and her goals. She never seemed to really consider Yang's feelings. The only reason Cardin had gotten a chance to connect with Yang was because Blake had turned tail and ran off, abandoning her girlfriend. Even if Cardin hadn't clashed with her over their histories, he wouldn't have any particular reason to like Blake.

When Cardin didn't say any of this, Blake decided to continue. "You don't have a single friendly quality in your body. You are selfish and arrogant beyond belief."

"Well that explains why we aren't friends," replied Cardin. "People with those qualities rarely get along."

"Excuse me?!"

Cardin had enough. He had seen what Blake had done to Yang once and he would not watch his friend suffer through it again. "You want to know why Yang and I are friends?! Because I was there for her and you weren't. Simple as that. She needed you and you fucking left her. It hurt her, Blake. It hurt her a lot. _You_ hurt her!"

Blake immediately recoiled as if Cardin had slapped her across the face. And, for the first time, Cardin saw an emotion other than disgust in Blake's deep gold eyes: regret. He scoffed at that display. Far too late for that now.

"I will not leave her again." The wounded look was replaced by the usual distaste and hatred. "So she doesn't need you anymore."

Cardin knew those words all too well and, regardless of how sincere Blake sounded, he knew better than to believe them. "That isn't your decision to make because I really don't care what you think. You aren't going to like me so I'm done trying to get you to." _I could save her from a burning building and she'd somehow turn that on me._

"Good," snapped Blake. "Because I will not forgive you for what you've done to my friends, even if they will."

"Likewise," was Cardin's similarly short reply.

As the two glared at each other, they failed to notice Yang running up to them, the rest of Team CRDL in tow. "Hey, are you two just gonna stand around or are you actually bringing the water over?"

The two mumbled before following Yang back to the protest site.

* * *

><p>Yang and Cardin sat down in the front row of the packed park's seats. Blake would be giving her speech momentarily and the place had filled up nicely. Cardin had been hoping against hope that Blake would give any sort of thanks for the effort but it was a vain hope. Yang had, saying that she was sure Blake meant it, but Cardin had a feeling that was less than true.<p>

"Aren't you excited?" asked Yang, a wide smile on her face. "We get to part of something that will make the lives of other people better!"

"Yeah…" muttered Cardin, clearly nowhere near as enthused as the bubbly blonde. "I mean, it is great that this is being done but…"

"But nothing." Yang turned Cardin's face to face hers. "Look, I know you and Blake don't get along. But you are both really important to me."

_Don't tell me to be nice to her, please._

"Can you promise you'll at least try to work things out? For me?"

Cardin felt a heavy pit in his stomach. The last thing he wanted to do was promise something to Yang he knew he would not be able to keep. But if the other choice was losing Yang, there was no choice.

"Yeah, I'll try. But she has to as well."

"Yeah, of course," replied Yang, starting to laugh. "Honestly, you two make me look like the rational one amongst a bunch of stubborn jackasses."

Cardin only rolled his eyes in response. As Blake stepped out, microphone in hand, Cardin watched Yang instead. The blonde was enraptured with the self-appointed Faunus spokesperson. Cardin sat back and listened to Blake's words and demands, fighting for something she cared about. Cardin could do that too. He _would_ do that too.


End file.
